Theresa May's Brexit preparations. Echoes of the surrender of Singapore in1942?

Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond have, to all intents and purposes, refused advice to prepare a plan for a no deal Brexit.  Such a refusal not only plays into the hands of European Union negotiators, but has ominous echoes of the surrender of Singapore in February 1942.

When Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival the British commander in Singapore was asked by Brigadier-General Ivan Simson, his chief engineer, if he could plan and prepare defences against a possible Japanese invasion of the island his answer was no “it would be bad for moral”.  No defences were built, the Japanese did indeed attack, and Percival was forced to surrender Singapore – probably the most catastrophic defeat in British military history.  

By spurning calls to prepare for a no deal Brexit the Prime Minister has trapped herself at the negotiating table.  She could be forced into a disastrous surrender on terms dictated by the European Union – just as Percival’s refusal to prepare meant surrendering on terms dictated by the Japanese.